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UNRISD Launches New Series of Research and Policy Briefs: Facts, Figures and Concise Analysis for Decision Makers
8 Jun 2004
UNRISD Research and Policy Briefs aim to improve the quality of development dialogue. They situate the Institute’s research within wider social development debates, synthesize its findings and draw out issues for consideration in decision-making processes. They provide this information in a concise format that should be of use to policy makers, scholars, activists, journalists and others.
UNRISD has a mandate to conduct policy-relevant research. It must produce results that are academically sound and also address the concerns of policy actors—including governmental and non-governmental institutions and individuals, at international and national levels. This implies a double challenge. If the Institute is to attract the best scholars and thinkers, it must provide an environment conducive to independent and creative work. At the same time, if policy actors are to take UNRISD research seriously, the Institute must clearly be sensitive to their need for coherent information that assists them in day-to-day decision making.
UNRISD Research and Policy Briefs should strengthen the Institute’s efforts to use its unusual position—at the intersection between international organizations, civil society and the academic community—to open new spaces for creativity and dialogue, and to encourage better circulation of ideas in the international community and beyond.
Research and Policy Brief 1 looks at corporate social responsibility and business regulation. It examines various ways in which transnational corporations might be regulated to minimize malpractice and improve their social, environmental and human rights record in developing countries. Research and Policy Brief 2 is on social development and the “information revolution”. It presents findings from the Institute’s research on the impact of information and communication technologies in Senegal, and reveals the potential social implications of policy choices that may be relevant for other countries.
UNRISD Research and Policy Briefs will be issued several times a year. English versions of numbers 1 and 2 are already available. French and Spanish versions will be published in summer 2004.